Earring with detachable spring arm



3, 1966 s. FICOCELL! 3,267,694

EARRING WITH DETACHABLE SPRING ARM Filed Feb. 17, 1964 INVENTOR LOUIS S. FICOCELLI BY ATTORiY United States Patent 3,267,694 EARRING WITH DETACHABLE SPRING ARM Louis S. Ficocelli, Cranston, R.I., assignor to Lectron Tool & Die C0rp., Crauston, KL, a corporation of Rhode Island Filed Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,334 1 Claim. (Cl. 63-14) My present invention relates to the jewelry art, and more particularly to a novel earring construction.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a clamp type earring having an interchangeable ornamental portion.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a clamp type earring in which the clamping member is readily separable from the ornamental portion permitting the application of a single standard clamping portion to a plurality of ornamental portions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a clamp type earring which standardizes the clamping finding necessary for a line of earrings.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a clamp type earring which is simple in construction and easy and economical to manufacture and assemble.

With the above and other objects and advantageous features in view, my invention consists of a novel arrangement of parts, more fully disclosed in the detailed description following, in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, and more particularly defined in the appended claim.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a clamp type earring embodying my invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the earring in clamping position;

FIG 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 with the earring in open position; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the clamping parts.

Clamp type earrings usually comprise a clamping member provided with a spring, and an ornament carrying member pivotally attached to the clamping member. At the pivot point, the ornament member is provided with a cam surface against which the spring is biased to provide a resilient clamping action. This assembly is usually sold as a finding to a jewelry manufacturer who must adapt his earring designs to the finding construction. If the design is changed, it often requires a change in the finding. Therefore, there is always a considerable amount of cost and waste in the purchase of these findings.

The present invention is designed to eleminate the above by reducing the clamped earring finding' to a single clamping member which can readily be pivotally attached to the ornament member by the manufacturer or even the ultimate consumer. The construction of the present invention even permits several earring colors, designs or other variations to be provided in sets with a single clamping arm for the entire group which can readily be moved from earring to earring.

Referring more in detail to the drawings, it is contemplated that the universal clamping arm comprise an elongated member which may be bent at one end 11 to provide the clamping surface. However, the shape of this end 11 may be varied to suit different requirements. A leaf spring 12 is locked to the member 10 adjacent one end by the lugs or tabs 13. At the pivot end, the member 10 terminates at a straight edge 14. The front free end of the spring 12 is provided with an integral forwardly extended tab 15 which rests on and extends beyond the edge 14.

At the front end, the member 10 is channel shaped, and the channel Walls are provided with aligned slots 16 extending transversely from the edge of each wall. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the remote wall of each slot 16 extends at 17 above said other walls to form a stop means for assembly purposes.

The ornament carrying member 18 may be any desired form or shape and may be provided with any suitable earring construction. It is only necessary that the member 18 be shaped to provide a clamping surface 19 which cooperates with the surface 11 to clamp the ear lobe, and be provided :at the other end with the construction illustrated for pivotally attaching it to the clamping member 10.

The pivotal end of the member 18 is provided with a cam portion 20 reentrantly bent to form a U-shape and narrow enough to easily fit betwen the channel walls of the member 10. Extending integrally laterally from the member 18, at the base of the cam 20, are aligned pivot pin means. The pivot pin means 21 are designed to fit into the slots 16 of the member 10. To assemble the parts from the position in FIG. 4 to the position in FIG. 2, the cam end 20 is positioned under the tab 15 at the front end of the spring 12. With a lifting action against the spring 12, the cam 24 is slid under the spring 12 and then inwardly longitudinally of the clamping member until the pivot ears 21 hit the raised edges 17 of the slots 16. The spring 12 will not snap the cam transversely to the clamping member so that the ears 21 enter the slots 16. To remove the member 18, the operation is reversed with the pressure first upwardly out of the slots 16, then outwardly toward the front.

Pressure of the spring 12 on the cam 20 tends to turn the parts into clamping position. As can be seen in FIG. 3, when the parts are pivoted to open position, the spring 12 rides on the cam edge 20 to apply a yielding clamping pressure. This action is conventional. Note, however, that the pressure of the spring 12 always tends to keep the parts pivotally connected regardless of their relative positions.

I have thus provided an earring construction in which a clamping arm is constructed for a universal connection to a plurality of ornamental portions. The above construction permits easy and rapid assembly either by the manufacturer or user. Cost and time are saved. Other advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

A clamping earring comprising a clamping member having a longitudinal channel at one end thereof and an ornament carrying, U-shape member, said ornament member being releasably pivotally mounted adjacent one end to said clamping member, said clamping member channel having sidewalls with aligned slot means therein and extending transversely thereof, said ornament member having aligned pivot pin means adapted to enter said slot by means by movement in a first direction longitudinal of said clamping member and then in a direction transverse thereto said clamping member having a leaf spring overlying and resiliently engaging an end of said ornament member and urging said pin means into said slots, said spring extending beyond the end of the remainder of said clamping member for forming a tab engageable by said ornament member end to lift said spring during assembly and pivot said members, said slot means having Walls adjacent said end and inner walls remote therefrom, the inner Walls of said slot means being raised above said other Walls to form a stop means to engage said pin means during the assembly operation.

RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

F. BARRY SHAY, Examiner. 

